Season's Over, Three 5-Game Winning Streaks, Four Games Back, Four Blown Calls

A little note I posted on FB I thought I would share:

Remember the 4 Raptor games this season where the refs screwed us over in the final seconds? Well the Raptors finished 4 games shy of the playoffs this season. How ironic. And we can sit here and talk about how they should have won a bunch of other close games down the stretch, true, but nothing sucks as much as the NBA holding our fate in their hands, and ultimately crushing our hopes in their fists. Oh, no apology needed NBA, you're too busy assuring the Lakers make it.

An interesting side note is that the raps have actually had three seperate 5-game winning streaks this season (FOUR if you count the preseason too). I have no proof at my fingertips, but I'm pretty sure that's the first time in their history they accomplished that. Congrats!

Amir developed into a solid pro, Jonas is blossoming, and hopefully Demar, Rudy and Kyle can keep it together next year like they did at the end of this season. Maybe we even get a surprise trade for Primo Pasta and get something decent in return!

It's disappointing to be out of the playoffs for another year, especially when we invested in them as season ticket holders, but (as always lol) hopefully next year they get over the hump. Sad to see them go for a few months but at least this means one fantastic thing - SUMMER!

Hang in there Raptor fans.

As up and down as the season has been, and considering the start we endured, the record really isn't too bad, and we came SO close to the playoffs despite all the negatives. I even feel like if we hadn't given up around the 70 game mark, it woulda been interesting today regarding the 8th seed. As I said in the message, a lot of positives to take away from the season. It was an interesting one to say the least.

P.S. Haven't been around these parts too often lately so I don't know if all of this has been posted somewhere else. Lock/remove if you must... when I am around I see a lot of negativity so I thought a little bitter sweet post is what the doctor ordered

Considering our horrid start, and the general up and down-ness of our season, I feel we did pretty well to cap off the season and take the next step towards development. I am happy that we get rid of a high pick, thats actually vindicating.

Yeah, those really sting. But the nba is rigged tbh. Look how they gave the 8th seed to the lakers, with all due respect to kobe. Esp I think raps are in much better shape atm than milwaukee. but raps could have made it too if they won those must-win games in feb and march (esp those against sub .500 teams).

Future always looks bright, but at least the raps now have a decent core. they just add and replace some pieces and they should be better next season. Patience is a virtue. Look at the Leafs this season finally got things clicking!

Yeah, those really sting. But the nba is rigged tbh. Look how they gave the 8th seed to the lakers, with all due respect to kobe. Esp I think raps are in much better shape atm than milwaukee. but raps could have made it too if they won those must-win games in feb and march (esp those against sub .500 teams).

Future always looks bright, but at least the raps now have a decent core. they just add and replace some pieces and they should be better next season. Patience is a virtue. Look at the Leafs this season finally got things clicking!

It is extremely frustrating that blown calls technically cost us difference in games....Of course, didn't we get killed by the Bucks every time? Wouldn't we have lost the 8 spot on a different technicality anyway?

Seriously though, it bugs me because now fans and media, and possibly even BC, will be making mention of it as if the season wasn't mostly a failure (from a team perspective).

It is extremely frustrating that blown calls technically cost us difference in games....Of course, didn't we get killed by the Bucks every time? Wouldn't we have lost the 8 spot on a different technicality anyway?

Seriously though, it bugs me because now fans and media, and possibly even BC, will be making mention of it as if the season wasn't mostly a failure (from a team perspective).

Very much agreed.

Personally, I'm not one for the victim mentality in this situation. In all those games the Raptors had opportunities to win but let the other teams back in it. The Raptors also had something like 18 fourth quarter leads in which they eventually lost.

Accountability and responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the Raptors.

At the time of the Gay trade they were 16-30 while Milwaukee was 24-20. After the Gay trade they put themselves in a position to make a run at the playoffs and were just 3 wins (23-33) behind Milwaukee (26-28). What did they do? Lose to Washington, Cleveland, Indiana, Milwaukee, and GS on their way to losing 12 of the next 15.

Or if that is not enough, how about if Toronto won the 3 games versus Milwaukee they lost this season? Suddenly Milwaukee have 34 wins and Toronto is sitting with 37.

I hope the higher ups in MLSE/ROGERS/BELL fire or trade anyone and everyone who makes any reference to 4 blown referee calls. That is a loser mentality, in my opinion, and provides further proof the whole culture change talk was nothing but lip service to pacify fans a little longer.

I really hope the "Raptors finished four games out and had four games stolen from them!" line of thinking gets stopped before it has a chance to truly get started.

The Raptors were never really in playoff contention after about the first week of the season. The postseason window was cracked open slightly following the surge after the Rudy Gay trade, but the Raptors followed it up with a 4-14 stretch including a week where they lost to the Wizards and the Kyrie-less Cavs in two games where their thin playoff hopes hung in the balance.

They won 7 of the last 8 to close the season, which made the team appear to be a lot closer to the playoffs than they actually were. Of course, those games came almost exclusively against teams that were either playing out the stretch and probably looking to lose (Minny, Washington) or a playoff team that was sitting their impact players (Boston, Atlanta, Chicago x2). I think the fact that Milwaukee has had the eighth seed wrapped up for close to a month allowed them to ease off the gas as well, which is another factor in the gap between the two teams looking a lot closer than it actually is.

Remember the 4 Raptor games this season where the refs screwed us over in the final seconds? Well the Raptors finished 4 games shy of the playoffs this season. How ironic. And we can sit here and talk about how they should have won a bunch of other close games down the stretch, true, but nothing sucks as much as the NBA holding our fate in their hands, and ultimately crushing our hopes in their fists. Oh, no apology needed NBA, you're too busy assuring the Lakers make it.

These things don't exist in a bubble. 4 blown calls by refs don't equal 4 wins. They still would have to make plays to win those games. Furthermore, winning a game or two of those 'blown calls' games (it works both ways btw) doesn't necessarily mean the season continues playing out the way it did and you have no proff that this is what happens.

Judging by last nights broadcast this has to be the greatest 50 loss team in the history of the NBA. This season went from "we're playoff contenders" to the bevy of excuse making: refs blown calls, our poor 4-19 start, injuries, tough early schedule, yadda yadda. Dissapointed as a fan that I have to tolerate this stuff. This team is weak wit no upside. Put together on the fly (typical BC) in an effort to save his job. The pieces don't fit and they are capped out but I'm being sold on how good this team will be. Tired of hearing the talk. This team has no accountability for failure, just excuses. They can't even do mediocrity properly.

Drastic change is needed. Don't let the typical late season winning streak against teams who are getting ready for the playoffs sway you on the 'upside". We see this every year. BC has turned this team into what he is. Slick and looks good, plays the part well but no substance or foundation. Just smoke and mirrors.

Yeah i really don't care about missing the playoffs, this team has no business being in the playoffs, but i'm pretty worried this last 5 win streak will turn into something bigger than it is (beating 5 teams that couldn't have cared less) namely BC and Casey staying on.

This team isn't very good and has no money or draft picks to get better, i hope the higher ups don't lose sight of that.

Personally, I'm not one for the victim mentality in this situation. In all those games the Raptors had opportunities to win but let the other teams back in it. The Raptors also had something like 18 fourth quarter leads in which they eventually lost.

Accountability and responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the Raptors.

At the time of the Gay trade they were 16-30 while Milwaukee was 24-20. After the Gay trade they put themselves in a position to make a run at the playoffs and were just 3 wins (23-33) behind Milwaukee (26-28). What did they do? Lose to Washington, Cleveland, Indiana, Milwaukee, and GS on their way to losing 12 of the next 15.

Or if that is not enough, how about if Toronto won the 3 games versus Milwaukee they lost this season? Suddenly Milwaukee have 34 wins and Toronto is sitting with 37.

I hope the higher ups in MLSE/ROGERS/BELL fire or trade anyone and everyone who makes any reference to 4 blown referee calls. That is a loser mentality, in my opinion, and provides further proof the whole culture change talk was nothing but lip service to pacify fans a little longer.

Exactly. Heck, as I said, with the 4 games as wins (considering none were against Milly) instead of losses, the Raps WOULD STILL LOSE THE TIE-BREAKER TO THE BUCKS.

The team had a bad season. They underachieved and the refs have made much worse calls (or no-calls) against the Raps (and I'm sure other teams) at less noticeable instances in games.

I really hope the "Raptors finished four games out and had four games stolen from them!" line of thinking gets stopped before it has a chance to truly get started.

The Raptors were never really in playoff contention after about the first week of the season. The postseason window was cracked open slightly following the surge after the Rudy Gay trade, but the Raptors followed it up with a 4-14 stretch including a week where they lost to the Wizards and the Kyrie-less Cavs in two games where their thin playoff hopes hung in the balance.

They won 7 of the last 8 to close the season, which made the team appear to be a lot closer to the playoffs than they actually were. Of course, those games came almost exclusively against teams that were either playing out the stretch and probably looking to lose (Minny, Washington) or a playoff team that was sitting their impact players (Boston, Atlanta, Chicago x2). I think the fact that Milwaukee has had the eighth seed wrapped up for close to a month allowed them to ease off the gas as well, which is another factor in the gap between the two teams looking a lot closer than it actually is.

There's no way Milwaukee wanted to stay at the 8th seed. I'm sure they were doing everything they can to avoid playing the heat in the first round.

Toronto also sat their "impact" players in the Atlanta game. Chicagos Noahless/roseless lineup that we beat were the ones that ended up crushing the miami heat streak.

We didn't have JV to beat the nets who clearly wanted 3rd and not 4th seed.

Washington are most likely looking to lose as are the suns. Minnesota are not.

There's no way Milwaukee wanted to stay at the 8th seed. I'm sure they were doing everything they can to avoid playing the heat in the first round.

Toronto also sat their "impact" players in the Atlanta game. Chicagos Noahless/roseless lineup that we beat were the ones that ended up crushing the miami heat streak.

We didn't have JV to beat the nets who clearly wanted 3rd and not 4th seed.

Washington are most likely looking to lose as are the suns. Minnesota are not.

The Nets are the one team that I give the Raptors credit for as a legit win during that stretch.

The Bulls were missing Rose/Noah/Gibson in both games against Toronto and Deng in one of them. That is 4 of their 5 best players. Clearly they are a much easier team to beat when those players are out of the line-up, and I don't think that's up for debate.

Yeah, those really sting. But the nba is rigged tbh. Look how they gave the 8th seed to the lakers, with all due respect to kobe. Esp I think raps are in much better shape atm than milwaukee. but raps could have made it too if they won those must-win games in feb and march (esp those against sub .500 teams).

Future always looks bright, but at least the raps now have a decent core. they just add and replace some pieces and they should be better next season. Patience is a virtue. Look at the Leafs this season finally got things clicking!

The 3 five game winning streaks are nice but deceiving. It means that they've have been inconsistent. 15 of their 34 wins have come from the streaks, so in the remaining 67 games they've gone 19-48. I wouldn't be pointing this out if their final record was due to winning more consistently. Their final record is bolstered by the 3 five game winning streaks.

I think they'll most probably be a play-off team next year and hopefully for years to come but it would be wise if the Raps. brass approached the off-season as a 19-48 team and not a 34-48 team. That way needs would be looked at more critically.

I don't remember exactly what games they were, but there were about 5 games throughout the year where I felt that if the raps won(or in a few cases competed), it would demonstrate they were a playoff caliber team. I know one was the OKC game back in early Jan. at the tail end of their first big streak, if they had competed (and possibly even one) then I was willing to start thinking playoffs were a possibility. Of course the game was over at half time or early in the 3rd quarter. That last Bucks, obviously, was another game where I was willing to revive my playoff hopes.

In every single game that I identified as being a good indication of their ability to be a playoff team (I know that this was subjective and arbitrary) they lost. Every single one. And this isn't a case of me being negative, because every time I wrote them off as a playoff team, they'd win a string of games and I'd start to think if they can keep up this pace, or if they can keep up this level of play then there's a chance. But when push came to shove, and I was a the point where I was thinking, if they can win this game then we've got a shot at the playoffs.

But that's the thing about seasons, every team that didn't make the playoffs can split it up into their best segments. "Gee, if we can only play like we did for that stretch in (fill in appropriate dates) then we're a playoff team." You can't throw out the first 30 games. Yeah, the schedule was relatively harder than a lot of other teams, but we still played those games.

For me the real difference between good teams and bad teams is NOT talent, but mental toughness and I don't mean giving hard fouls (although there's nothing wrong with that) it's the ability to NOT take possessions off. The goal of basketball isn't to win a championship, or a playoff series, or a single game. The goal is to win EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION. Once you start doing the right thing on every possession (regardless of whether any particular shot actually goes in, either for you or the opposition), you magically win games, playoff series, and have a chance to win the whole darn thing. It's execution and consistency. And the only way you demonstrate that you have the ability to play at a high level is to do it, every single defensive possession and every single offensive possession.

I'm always confused that fans of bad teams like to split up stretches of any given season and point to it as evidence that they have the "potential" to compete with the best. I hate to burst their collective bubble, but they don't. The coach or the players don't have the most important indicator of success. Execution. And all the splitting does is sugar coat that fact.

I think the raps will make the playoffs next year, and I think they even have the talent to challenge for home court advantage in the first round, but they got to start showing consistency and execution. They lose to may possessions both on offense and defense by sloppy play/mental errors. It's the mental game that needs to improve the most and it is reflected in the fact that the raps cannot sustain good play for long stretches.

Next season (or during any playoff game), try a little experiment, after every possession, just put a check under the team that won that possession (whether any points were scored or not) if the offense took a bad shot it's a check for the defense, if the offense gets an open look or an easy basket due to the defense falling asleep or not getting back in time, give a check to the offense. I'm betting you'll find what I've found, regardless of the runs or the lead changes, the team that wins the most possessions wins the game. Over a 7 game series, it's easy to see a trend, to see which team is better at execution, and that's the team that inevitably wins.

The fact that their are stretches were the raptors play at a high level is not an indication that they can compete for a playoff spot.

The fact that they are unable to sustain the level of play that would allow them to compete for a playoff spot is a good indication of how far they are away for Milwaukee and every other playoff team.

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

The average sports fans are probably the most predictable people on earth.

I got 17 reasons for you to buy a season ticket p3t3ypablo
reason #4 - 4 blown calls that cost us the playoffs.
Buy now to have 41 chances to boo the evil refs who are part of the corrupt NBA conspiracy!

That is right. We (fans,me including) tend to get over excited by a few good games only to get our hopes crushed at the next DUMB loss from the Bobcats...It really IS the mental game that most needs work. It isn't like Rudy doesn't have the talen,Derozan the work ethic or the Raptors as a whole organization - the resources. It just the mental preparation of the players and to some extend the coaches. Of course the GM also can not be innocent as he assembled this roster. So as simple as it sound while actually very hard to accomplish the solution is execution.
Excuse my English.